My son, Africa 2008

[Mad Dog]

I haven't posted here in a long time.  My son, along with my best friend and his son went on an african safari, the first 2 wks. of July.  My son took a NEF handi rifle, .30-06, using Fed. factory loads, 180 gr. nosler partitions.  He had 7 1 shot kills.  Thought I'd post the pics for you handi rifle afficianodos.  I did as well, but with a .45-70 guide gun.  Pics below.



red hartebeast.



impala



warthog



zebra with Rico the wonder dog.



blesbok.



kudu.



blue wildebeast.

He has hunted with a single shot tracker, for deer, all his life[26 yrs. old], and killed a bear in Idaho, 2 yrs. ago with a H&R Ultra Hunter, .30-06 2 yrs ago.  The Ultra had major issues 4 days befor the hunt, and he borrowed this handi rifle 4 days before the hunt.  He fired it 15 times before the hunt.  The results speak for themselves.  Enjoy.

Mad Dog

ps:  I am very proud of him.

[dpe.ahoy]

As you should be!  Looks like you had a fantastic hunt!  What a wonderful way to build memories with your son.  DP.

[ccoorreeyy]

That is SO cool!!

[holahead]

That is pretty cool right there now!!!!!

[stimpylu32]

Maddog

Didn't you explain to that boy he has to have a $2000 Custom rifle to hunt on the Dark Cont. , those $250 single shots just will not kill anything . 

Very well done !! I can see why your very proud of him , he did good . 

stimpy

[silver surfer]

Wow that is awesome!  Congratulations to you both, I am so jealous.

[quickdtoo]

That's fantastic, I guess that answers the question of what rifle to take on a hunt of a lifetime!! 

Thanks,

Tim

[marko]

Incredible! We lived in Tanzania for 4 years and had the pleasure of hunting warthog, topi, impala, reedbuck, and wildebeest. This brings back great memories! Thanks for sharing!

[jpshaw]

Nice going.  I need to save this thread to show those who question me for hunting whitetails with a  Handi single shot here in NW Louisiana.

[petemi]

What a fantastic hunt!!  I'll never make it to Africa, but it is very nice to see what my '06 and .45-70 Handis are capable of.  Thanks for sharing.  Pete

[Siskiyou]

Enjoyed your post.  What is Rico's story?

[Datil]

 What a great time was had by all, Congrats to all!
 Doesn't your son needs a 458 Win Mag Hunt down there?
 Best Marvin

[Mad Dog]

Siskiyou,  Ricco is a 3 mo. old blood hound pup that was shipped to the airport, when we arrived.  He traveled to camp with us.  He rode in the truck every day with Dan and Johann[ph].  He will be trained as a tracking dog, for wounded game.  Dan fell in love with the pup, and included him on all of his kill pics.  I loved the pic, with the zebra, and included it in his kill pics.  I love that dog.

Mad Dog

[dw06]

Great pics,thanks for sharing.And with a borrowed rife to boot! Tell him congrats from us handi users.

[kjeff50cal]

This needs to be a sticky for all fence sitters and non Handy-beleavers .

[quickdtoo]

Not a sticky, but it's in the FAQs. 

Tim

[Mad Dog]

quick,  just curious, where in the FAQs?  I looked, but couldn't find it.

Mad Dog

[stimpylu32]

Mad Dog

Check just below were it says 2007 retail price list -- Title is  ( 30-06 Handi in Africa )

stimpy

[BBF]

Inquiring minds want to know, at least mine does, what were those major issues with the Ultra?

[Saloon slug]

That is a cool post. I am green with envy . Not only was it a Handi but he used the small little 30-06 If you listen to most of the gun rags and shows you have to have a minimum .375 to knock out armor plated African critters. Good job.

[Mad Dog]

.45-70 Govt.  The ultra was a lemon, from the word go.  Bought it 2 yrs. ago, for the boy to take on our Idaho bear hunt.  It stuck cases really bad.  Had chamber reamed.  Still had issues, until we dried the chamber out, and left the bore dirty.  I tried to talk him into a different gun, almost  1 1/2 yrs. ago.  No dice.  He grew up hunting deer with a 20 ga. tracker II.  He still has it, has killed about 20 deer with it.  He took the ultra to Idaho, and killed a bear at about 200 yds.  with the 180 gr. noslers.  Long story short, my boy travels a lot, and his shooting time is limited.  He's home before the trip, and on the 3d shot, the gun wouldn't cock.  The transfer bar broke.  My smith fixed it, but neglected to proof fire it.  I got busy, and didn't fire it either.  The boy gets home, and we go for a final site in 4 days before the hunt.  It fires once, misfires, then fires again.  After that, it wouldn't fire.  Off to the smith.  He dicks with it for 2 hrs.  We leave, and go to plan B.  My buddy, who went on the trip, had a handi .30-06.  We go to the farm, shoot it 12-15 times and he shoots a nice group.  He says he's lost all confidence in the ulta[as he should have!], and said he wouldn't take it even if it was fixed.  He had to make a 180 mile roundtrip run to Indy to get a new 4457 customs form for the handi, so we could take it to RSA.  I get a call that the gun is fixed[for now.].  Seems when the transfer bar came apart, and he soldered it, it was about .002 to high, and it wouldn't allow the hammer to hit the firing pin full force.

Boys, I'm telling you, I had more trouble with this damn gun than the 40 pluss I have owned, put together.  It is going far, far away, and getting traded for a .22 for the boy.  Good ridence to bad rubish!!!.

Mad Dog

[handirifle]

WOW! nice testimony of the rifle and the son, congrats on both cases.  I'm jealous for sure!

He is a true hunter, with such a history of one shot kills.

[BBF]

That is a sad tale re the Ultra considering it is just about as simple of an action as you can get. I have had one Ultra in 25-06 that never did produce the groups I liked so it got sold.

Re your 45-70. Could you have legally used hard cast bullets in your hunt in Africa?

[Mad Dog]

Yes I could have.  However, on the plains game I think a good premium soft point is the way to go.

Mad Dog

[Mad Dog]

.45-70 Govt.  forgot to post this pic.  This is why I used a soft on the plains game.  Its the 300 gr. nosler partition.  These are the only bullets I have ever recovered from any game shot with them.



Mad Dog

[Singleshotsam]

Thats an awesome hunt!  I'm going to email this link to a couple gun snob friends of mine.  Just goes to show that a man who is confident in his hunting abilities can do so with whatever equipment is available !!!